A Camping Adventure.

To celebrate Josh's birthday, I came up with the idea to go on a camping adventure!  With the help of my dear friend Emily, we decided to head up to Ludington State Park.  It was a quick two hour drive, and when we arrived we realized we were the ONLY people camping there that night.  Which isn't surprising, when I really stop to think about it.   Considering it was April 11.  In Michigan.  and it got down to the 30's that night. (I'm pausing my typing right now to pat myself on the back for being such a rockstar wife :-P)

But seriously, it was such a fun experience for us.  Josh grew up going camping and spending a lot of time outside.  I, on the other hand, grew up in the city (a small city, yes, but a city no less!) and vacationing in bigger cities in hotels.  So I was a little anxious about the whole thing but quite excited.  It ended up being a really relaxing adventure for us.  We went to bed early because there isn't a whole lot to do outside, in the dark, in near freezing temperatures.  We woke up early, too, because of the early sunrise.  We felt rested (a little tense from sleeping on the ground) and ready for a hiking adventure.

This first picture is amazing.  After hiking a mile into the park, we arrived at our rustic camping spot, set up our tent, and rushed to the beach to see the sunset!  Isn't Josh just an incredible photographer?  He continually amazes me.

Josh has been trying out different editing tricks.  This is a unique shot of our campsite.

The Ludington Lighthouse

This picture reminds me of my favorite children's book, "The Giving Tree".  It was what was left of a huuuuge tree that for 127 years stood just outside the lighthouse.

When we hiked to the lighthouse, we were surprised to see people there!  This man's name is Phil.  He took us on a tour of the lighthouse.  Every spring he volunteers two weeks of his life to help restore it and get it ready for tourist season.  I loved hearing his heart for preserving these landmarks and learning about the actual purposes and logistics of lighthouses.  Josh is pretty sneaky with his camera, so Mr. Phil had no idea this picture was even being taken.

The view from the top looking down.  Turns out I'm a little afraid of heights.  (Can you find Buddy in this picture?  'cause I can!)  

Josh cooking eggs in the morning.  So rustic. So handsome!

Here I am trying to stay warm in the early morning hours.  

(The women in my family always tease me on the rare occasion that I wear these sweatpants. They say they're ugly but I would just like to remind Mom and Lindsay everyone, that THEY'RE SWEATPANTS.  They aren't meant to be cute.  The literal name of them is gross.  Sweat. Pants.  Lets get past this as a family, ok? ok)

:-)

I'm excited to say that I love camping!  Our hearts and our souls were so refreshed after this little excursion.  We vowed to make it a point to camp and be outside more this summer.  

Happy Birthday, Love!